Vernell Brown’s miraculous catch claims spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays ranking
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Vernell Brown III is a freshman wide receiver for Florida, and he was born in Gainesville, so you know how much Saturday night’s season opener against Long Island meant to him.
He led Florida in receiving yards in his debut, so that would make the night memorable on its own.
But there was more. A lot more, in fact.
One of Brown’s 3 catches was off-the-charts ridiculous. With No. 15 Florida already leading 31-0 late in the second quarter, quarterback DJ Lagway scrambled to his right, trying to find a target. He found one in Brown, lofting the ball toward the right corner in hopes that Brown could somehow catch the pass. It was overthrown a little, or a lot, but that didn’t seem to matter to Brown, who stuck out his right hand as far as possible and pulled in the miraculous catch.
Brown tumbled to the ground inside the Long Island 10-yard line, with the crowd gasping for air as it realized what a gem of a play it was by the Gainesville native who was just trying to hold it together in his much-anticipated debut. He did that and more, and he was rewarded by ESPN for it.
SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays of the day on Saturday featured a lot of wonderful plays, but Brown’s topped the charts.
It was No. 1 on the list, and here is the video of the catch:
Brown has a lot more days and nights as a Gator ahead, but he’ll no doubt remember his debut fondly for his total game and for that 1 special play.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
